


Amongst the Pack

by cyavillain



Category: Naruto
Genre: A little bit of angst, Dog Fluff!, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Obito has an inner crisis, but he has some serious dog dad potential, he's not a dog person, mostly fluffy, that's all thanks to Kakashi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-29 17:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19404754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyavillain/pseuds/cyavillain
Summary: Obito survived the 4th war. He's rebuilding his relationship with Kakashi to become a part of the pack.





	Amongst the Pack

**Author's Note:**

> Hi readers! I know that no one expected fluff from me but I just wanted to write something cute. I like dogs and I like fluff. Lol, I'm still somehow seriously weirded out that I wrote this, tho. c':

There was a clear hierarchy in Kakashi’s bedroom and no space for outsiders.

Every night the dogs would gather around Kakashi. Pakkun slept to his right, whilst the left pillow’s side was Bull’s spot and Bull’s only. The rest of the pack rested their heads on Kakashi’s chest, shielding him with their bodies.

Most days, Kakashi seemed dejected. A little bit of affection from loyal friends was probably what he needed.

Obito didn’t have a place in this limb pile. He was almost dangling off the edge of the bunk, but it didn’t matter. He held Kakashi’s hand in his, determined to stay there just for the sake of staying. The morning sun was already peeking through the curtains, which implied that the longest wait was over. Besides, these nights didn’t last more than six hours. Whether that was a good thing was debatable. Probably not.

The air was thick and hot. Pakkun turned around, and it was Obito’s cue to find a better position. The miserably small surface-area wasn’t designed for eight dogs and two grown men.

It was weird to share a bed with another person. No, Konoha was a weird environment to be in. The village felt distant and foreign after almost two decades of freedom. It would never become Obito’s home again, but…

Things changed.

Obito sat up, trying to move as silently as he could. He didn’t let go off Kakashi’s hand.

Their relationship was strange and alien, too.

Kakashi had never been a real enemy despite _everything_ , but his mindset was different. Improving the world wasn’t too high on his priority list. He’d rather let it suck than change it. This disagreement wasn’t going to be resolved any time soon.

The worst part about this bond was that it lulled Obito into a false sense of security. He knew that the world was in a need of a reset. 

He knew, knew and fucking knew it.

Deep down.

Sometimes he was able to convince himself that Kakashi needed him even when that wasn’t the case at all. Kakashi was stronger than he let on. 

The prolonged stay was a selfish choice instead of an altruistic decision.

One could argue that the war had left Obito wounded. However, he was able to walk straight again. The long healing process was at an end.

Each second spent in Konoha was a wasted one.

The society wasn’t going to rearrange itself, and there were hardly any volunteers for the job. The only reason why Obito was so damn stuck was the lack of a new plan. He didn’t know what to do. There was no direction to choose from.

Hells, there were no means to achieve peace.

Obito was supposed to be done with excuses. He swallowed hard and let the realization wash over him.

He wanted to take a break just to be with Kakashi.

He couldn’t justify it, not after everything he’d done to get to this dead-end. Years and years of dissociating had left him disconnected with the past, but his mind was starting to wake up, slowly digesting the specifics. Many lives were sacrificed in vain. Some of them had ended so young.

Obito took a deep breath. He pulled his hand away from Kakashi’s, fixing his gaze to the bedroom door. The misplaced feeling was there at all times, but it grew stronger by each second of solitude. Whenever all the distractions were gone, it was hard to ignore how poorly a convicted criminal fitted into the frame.

Kakashi needed so much more than that.

“Grudges won’t bring anyone back,” he’d said a while back. Genuinely. He’d said it genuinely.

It was another reason why Obito wasn’t suited for kindness. He kept claiming that he wasn’t bitter about anything but essentially, that would always be a big fat lie. To him life was looking like an unfair bitch. Being in the receiving end of injustice had made the entire phenomenon visible. The tables were turned now, but that just proved the original assumption that karma had a morbid sense of humor.

Obito was about to stand up when he felt something squishy, cold and wet pressing against his lower back. He turned around to meet a very disapproving look.

“What?” he whispered to Shiba, trying to ignore that Kakashi was reaching out for a hand to hold on.

The gaze lingered. A low whine cut through the air, but a dog’s resentment wasn’t an issue. It really wasn’t.

Leaving was still an option, a smart one.

Obito never took the chance to elope. He stayed, vaguely acknowledging that he was being watched. It was all thanks to the judgmental stare.

There were many kinds of pathetic, but the current level of it was something truly new. 

A few moments passed in silence where the eight steady breaths were the only sounds in the room. They were sidetracking enough to stop Obito from thinking about his current situation too deeply. The restless feeling remained, but time went on.

Eventually.

Maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t all that bad. At least Obito was going to be around when Kakashi would wake up. These nights were short for a reason. A clear pattern repeated during them. First, Kakashi would mumble incoherent words right after falling asleep. Then a brief period of quiet would follow.

Every now and then Obito was able to rest his eyes in the silent atmosphere. There was not much normal left in him, but sleep wasn’t one of those things that his gobbled-together body refused to accomplish. Not entirely. The concept of a circadian cycle was non-existent for it, but the chance for a little break from reality was still a thing.

Obito readjusted his position. The last stage of the night was close. The soft murmurs were yet to start, but the glistening on Kakashi’s forehead was already visible. The poor bastard didn’t know what nice dreams were anymore.

Aside from Shiba, all the dogs were fast asleep. One of them seemed to be watching over the rest.

Shiba pulled his ears back, turning his eyes on Kakashi.

The hounds fucking worshipped their boss and were beyond unapologetic about it. They could provide love and sincerity. Obito wasn’t going to compete against that, he didn’t have anything like that to offer. Even if he did, it paled in comparison.

But he stayed.

Kakashi liked to hold hands and exchange a few words before he went for a morning walk with the dogs. The enjoyment for those moments was mutual even when Obito couldn’t bring himself to say it aloud. Words were overrated anyway.

“Don’t.”

Obito’s froze. He’d known to expect the murmurs, but they got off guard every time, sending a tiny spike of adrenaline through his system.

Nothing new there.

“Don’t go,” another pathetic plea escaped Kakashi’s lips. How was anyone to show such a vulnerable state to the public-enemy number one was beyond Obito. People looked fragile when they were asleep, and Kakashi wasn’t an exception. The shadows under his eyes darkened as he reached out for something to hold on.

Again.

Obito held out his hand. He felt Kakashi’s fingers intertwining with his, dripping with cold sweat.

Today was starting off like any other day.

No surprises, no thrills.

“ _Please._ ”

“I’m right here, Bakashi,” it sounded exactly like bullshit that a lover would tell. Kakashi tightened his grip for a while before taking a sharp breath. Moments later, he mumbled something inaudible and then his eyes opened, blinking and staring around in confusion. A wave of relief flashed across his face.

Another night was gone by.

Shiba pushed past Obito to greet Kakashi with a generous lick right up to his face. The other dogs were starting to wake up as well. They said their good mornings with enthusiastic wags and barks. Kakashi made sure to notice each dog individually, praising them for not destroying the house during the dark hours.

Obito inched away slowly, giving some space for the morning routine. He wasn’t exactly on speaking terms with the pack. The hounds tolerated him and he tolerated them back, but there were unspoken rules. The first one was never to interfere with their greetings. Obito wasn’t a fan of such restrictions, but he was willing to make an exception there. Many omissions were made because big feelings softened people. 

Kakashi seemed happy when he finally turned around and pulled Obito next to him. They shared a hug and proceeded to spend the next minute in each other’s arms. Kakashi’s skin was warm after laying under the blankets. His heartbeat was strong and slowing down as the night wore off on him.

“You have drool on your face,” Obito stated as he felt a tiny kiss on his temple. He minded it a lot less than he cared to admit.

“You’re cute, too, sunshine,” Kakashi replied, deliberately pressing his chin against Obito’s forehead.

Obito rolled his eyes but said nothing about it.

“Slept well?” he asked instead.

Kakashi didn’t have to give an honest answer. Utter bullshit was entirely valid, but the truth was equally fine. The latter was rarely preferred inside these walls.

“Yes, I had a really pleasant dream about you, me and a giant plate of sweets. Looking back, there were even singing dangos,” such a ridiculous sum of details implied that it was too early for earnest talk. 

“Right,” Obito said. He could add absolutely nothing to that. Sure, the fake dream sounded creepy as fuck, but Obito wasn’t there to judge Kakashi’s imagination. He buried his face against Kakashi’s chest, allowing himself to enjoy the closeness for a few more moments. Kakashi’s fingers trailed through his hair, brushing most of the seclusion away.

It was comforting, treacherously soothing.

Undeserved and yet so lovely.

“Shouldn’t you be on your morning walk by now?” Obito asked. He’d closed his eyes but that didn’t stop him from feeling eight disapproving gazes on him.

The displaced feeling was back.

“Maa, it can wait,” Kakashi replied. His scent was pleasant, Obito thought, as he inhaled deeply. “Unless you want to join us?” Kakashi requested. His voice lacked the usual amount of dryness. 

“Seriously,” Obito muttered.

It wasn’t a question.

“Well, I don’t see why not. I think the ten of us should spend more time together. What about you?” the cheerful nonsense was back.

“Yeah, nothing beats causing some panic first thing in the morning,” Obito commented. He’d kept low profile, but this was Konoha. Rumors flied, and somehow a way too many people were aware of him being alive, wounded and weakened, but breathing in spite of those things.

“Don’t tell me that you don’t know how to put on a mask,” Kakashi teased. There was a serious undertone, though. 

What a waste.

Right now, sincerity was unnecessary. Facts weren’t a big deal. 

“You’re extra thick today, aren’t you?” Obito decided to laugh it off and move on. “I’m done with mass hysteria and such.”

“I know,” Kakashi reassured. “But you still seem to hate every minute here,” it was his turn to say something that should’ve been a question instead of a blunt statement.

The conversation was headed towards a strange direction.

Obito grimaced.

“I don’t,” he demanded and in all fairness, he’d told bigger lies than that. “I just shouldn’t be here in the first place,” he reminded. There was a number of reasons for it, starting from the fact that Obito had been Konoha’s enemy for a really long time.

He’d tried to destroy the damn village. One could even say that he’d been half-way there back in the day.

Kakashi said nothing. He ran his hand over Obito’s hair one more time before pausing.

“No need to think about it too deeply,” Obito broke the silence. “It’s not like you can declare war and come back like nothing happened.”

“I get that – I get that Konoha isn’t your scene so to speak,” Kakashi admitted. “But you’re still here,” finally, there was a question.

“Yeah, and I shouldn’t. We can go back and forth about this forever, but we don’t have to,” Obito deadpanned. He managed to sound pretty convincingly indifferent about it.

“I can’t leave Konoha,” Kakashi said. The son of a bitch dared to imply that he’d actually thought reckless actions. That wasn’t him at all. “I need to make sure that my students can move on with their lives without any unnecessary incidents.”

“No one has asked you to leave,” besides, those three brats weren’t Kakashi’s students anymore. But apparently, they were a part of his pack. Anyone who was included got all the care Kakashi could offer. 

“You’re practically suffocating.”

“It is what it is,” Obito concluded. “I can take care of myself, Bakashi.”

“But you don’t have to and that’s my point,” their eyes met. 

Obito opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.

Nothing.

He wasn’t mentally prepared to receive a glimpse of genuine, apologizing warmth.

He forced out a chuckle and pretended that it didn’t sound like a choked sob.

“I can’t ask for…”

Forgiveness. Sympathy. Anything.

“I think we both know that you have issues to let people like you,” Kakashi cut off. “But it doesn’t mean that I don’t want you to feel a little bit less gloomy. This isn’t about deserving. It’s about you being the part of the pack now.”

At least Obito’s laugh was sincere – dry and sardonic, but sincere. He didn’t get why Kakashi was so damn insistent about this all of the sudden. It was wrong on so many levels.

“Just stop,” Obito mumbled. He was glad that he’d buried his head against Kakashi’s chest since there was a lump in his throat and a burning sensation in his eyes. “I’ll come with you. Let’s go for that stupid walk.”

Kakashi was kind enough to drop the subject. Finally. He hummed and kissed Obito one more time, saying some trash about being glad that Obito was there. 

And as unjustifiable and selfish as it was, Obito was fine with it for a while. He burrowed in a bit deeper into the hug as the dogs surrounded both of them, shielding the moment with their bodies.


End file.
